Emergency Removal of Patients (1965)

[Music] lieutenant Robert McGrath of the fire prevention Bureau of the Chicago Fire Department realizing the need for organized patient removal in case of disaster as developed these emergency carries the Presbyterian st. Luke's Hospital one of the pioneers in his methods has produced this film's part of their safety program these are emergent issues only the main objectives to remove paper fire most terrifying word in a hospital dr. ed dr. ed dr. ed third upper could you be as calm as the student nurse as she removes her patient from the danger area the tragedy of an unnecessarily burned patient can be avoided through education of personnel the following scenes demonstrate several methods of evacuation adapted to the patient's diagnosis the patient carried in this manner might have a broken leg or a cerebral vascular accident the advantages of this carry are one it can be accomplished by one nurse to the patient's body parallel to the nurses is protected when going through a burning exit the crossed arms grasp the risks of the patient a patient to a sitting position turn your back to the side of the bed and position the patient's excellent OP of your shoulders cross the patient's arms on your chest still maintaining grasp of wrists pivot and walk slowly from the bed the patient is now being pulled to a sitting position the nurse rolls the patient to her shoulders note the position and pivot action of the feet as she shifts the patient from the bed to her back observe the balance of the patient on the nurses shoulders resembling that of a knapsack this carry might be used for a patient having abdominal surgery notice the placement of the nurse's arm around the patient's upper back and the bend of the knees the patient is positioned high on the nurses hips the patient may be lowered to the floor by using a wall outside the danger area place the patient's body parallel to the wall using the wall as a support for lowering the patient to the floor this close up gives a better idea of the placement of arms and weight distribution one advantage of this carry is that the patient is on a blanket or sheet ready for transportation spread the blanket parallel to the bed pull not lift the patient to the edge of the bed lean toward the bed and slide the patient down your chest the patient is then pulled out of the room on the blanket here you can see the lack of strain on the nurses part in moving the patient to the edge of the bed and sliding down her chest this student nurse performed the knee drop after 10 minutes of instruction a team method is most advantageous when evacuating more than one patient the second nurse moves the patient to safety this patient has heard the activity and knows danger is present she is apprehensive and anxious to reach safety through weakness she is unable to walk and falls to the floor should this happen one nurse may move her this is done by spreading a blanket parallel to the patient grasp her at the shoulders and hips and roll onto the blanket in a matter of seconds the patient is out of danger the swing carry is the best to man carry for vertical evacuation utilizing power and speed this carry should be used when going through a burning exit coordination is important in order to minimize your own and the patient's discomfort this carry is used when it is imperative that the patient's body alignment be maintained our patient here is in traction a nailed hip a broken back and all other disabilities requiring immobilization can utilize this carry even working swiftly as these nurses are doing teamwork and coordination are extremely important to the patient safety and feeling of well-being when no cart is available or when the patient must be carried down a stairway or fire escape for people are necessary the patient can then be moved on a sheet or blanket the same approach and lift are used as before the difference is the replacement of sheet or blanket for cart all of these nurses are needed to carry this patient to safety when using a blanket as a stretcher the nurses hands are just above the shoulders above the elbow above and below the knees let's take a look at this carry in slow motion head and nurse places one arm around patient shoulders thereby protecting the head and the other arm under upper back Center nurse puts one arm just below waist and the other just below his foot and nurse places one arm at knees and the other at ankles as you can see there is a real need for exact coordination among team members lieutenant McGrath is instructing a class of student nurses in the proper use of extinguishers as well as other methods of putting out a fire fires commonly occur in wastebaskets beds and electrical equipment here he is using a co2 extinguisher which will smother a volatile fire without danger to himself the fire source or the patient to put out a wastebasket or very small bed fire there is no need to run for an extinguisher if you have a newspaper sheet or blanket handy these instructors are showing how this can be done with a blanket or a sheet or even a newspaper butin tries to put out the fire started by lieutenant McGrath the newspaper wasn't down close enough to the can to smother this fire there she tries it again the instructor explains that even larger fire areas can be controlled with the small hand co2 extinguisher the object is to work from the outside edge toward the center of the fire let's see how well these nurses do it the soda acid extinguisher is used for paper and wood fires it consists of a solution of baking soda in water into which a small quantity of sulfuric acid has been released upon inversion of the tank obviously the solution is not compatible with electrical or chemical fires where water or acid might be damaging here two nurses put out a wood fire this extinguisher projects 30 to 40 feet and can be carried by one person here three students put out a larger wood fire note that the tank of the extinguisher is laid on its side and inverted by use of the bottom handle when the tank is set upright the flow stops when using a fire hose two people can man the hose when the pressure is low when the pressure is high four are needed now let's see how these carries function during a mass evacuation this is the two-man swing carry in action here a four-man team utilizes a blanket for transporting the patient we have shown you only a few of the salient features in these fire carries there is much more to be learned it is hoped that through presentation of this film other hospitals will be in Slough tenant McGrath's principles and add these safety measures to their hospital programs [Music] you